What to expect in markets in the next 24 hours

1) U.S. shutdown, U.K. GDP: Just like U.S. investors, overseas markets are worried about a potential U.S. government shutdown. So that will be a key topic overseas overnight, but we\’ll also get some economic reports.

One of those reports will be a third reading on the U.K.\’s second-quarter GDP. Expectations are for 0.7% growth, and if there\’s a significant revision there could be a market reaction.

One way to invest in the U.K. is through the iShares MSCI U.K. ETF
. Morningstar analysts praise this rather defensive ETF in part for its holdings in \”quality\” global companies such as Vodafone
, BP
and GlaxoSmithKline
.

2) U.S. GDP, jobless claims: The S&P 500
has endured a five-day losing streak, and maybe the slide will continue if investors don\’t like the latest estimate for second-quarter U.S. GDP.

Expectations are for 2.7% growth, up from the prior estimate of 2.5%. The GDP estimate will hit at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, when initial weekly jobless claims also will come out. Economists polled by MarketWatch are expecting 327,000 claims, up from 309,000 in the prior week.

One thing analysts are scrutinizing is Bed Bath & Beyond\’s new website that launched last month. \”The company does not disclose online sales, but we believe penetration is minimal at around 2% of total sales,\” Canaccord Genuity analysts wrote last week. They added that the home-goods retailer is now \”in a position to take advantage\” of a \”sizable market opportunity\” in e-commerce.

Ahead of Jabil\’s report, Stifel analysts cut their estimates on concerns about BlackBerry
, saying the ailing smartphone maker likely accounted for about 7% to 9% of Jabil\’s in the latest quarter.

4) McCormick, Cantel reporting: Spice producer McCormick
and Cantel Medical
are among the companies slated to post earnings before the bell Thursday.

McCormick is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats. It\’s also a consumer-staples name, and that sector and other bond-proxy sectors have underperformed this year.

Meanwhile, Cantel is up 46% so far this year. Chart watchers were excited about the stock\’s breakout from a brief consolidation to a new high last week. Cantel is in the infection-prevention business, offering a range of products and services in this area.

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